That came out really good. The rocket launching and backblast effect are a great touch! Are you going to make a desert display base for this?

Good job, I gave up on the MARS kit by Dragon. My hat's off to anyone who completes one!

Somewhere there is a gallery, virtual maybe; that your builds should be in.

I mean that in a serious way.

My father was a NG redleg who served an M40 GMC.

Today would have been his 90th birthday. He passed away 4 years ago.

Gino I always am very interested in your builds because I use them as a starting point for learning about the equipment, the units and the setting.

Dad and I thank you for that and for your service.

Stay safe,

Bill

Thanks guys.  It was a fun build.  

Stik - Right now It will just go on the shelf.  Maybe I'll put it on a base later.

Rob - It wasn't that bad.  I have built a bunch of them and have it pretty much down pat.  They go pretty quickly.

Bill - I am glad I made you think of your dad.  I'm sure he was a great guy.  My builds are available to be seen on my photobucket site linked in my signature block.  

HeavyArty

Rob - It wasn't that bad.  I have built a bunch of them and have it pretty much down pat.  They go pretty quickly.

Probably like me and the old Tamiya M1 and Esci M60A1 kits. 

Thank you for your comment, Gino and thank you for the link. I am enjoying it.

Yes Dad was active 1950 to 1954, spent most of his time protecting Northern Michigan from the hordes to the North.

Very nicely done. The launch & backblast are nice touches. 

Thanks TigerII.  I am pleased with how it came out as well.

Yeah, I love the 'in-action' look as it were with the launching missile and backblast. Always nice to see the AFV 'doing-it's-thing' instead of the standard static pose.

Thanks Gamera.  I like the "in action" pose as well.

Gino, I value your military knowledge and model building experience, which is the skills that make this hobby meaningful too me.

Sometimes I struggle with the thought that war and the weapons of war should not be glorified in what we enjoy as a hobby. But then I remember there is a balance in this world we live in... A strong effective military is still the best deterrent from the horror of war.

Your rocket launcher is very realistic and nicely done. I would hate to be on the receiving end of that kind of weapon.

Bill, thank you for sharing pictures of your Father. I enjoy stories of family military service. I too have family members who served. However, I was the only one out of eight brothers to serve during the Vietnam War.

Harold

Sergeant

Sometimes I struggle with the thought that war and the weapons of war should not to be glorified in what we enjoy as a hobby. But then I remember there is a balance in this world we live in... A strong effective military is still the best deterrent from the horror of war.

Gino straightened me out on that, to each their own. No place for politics.

You of course know a whole lot more about combat than I. And I LOVE modeling the US military, in particular the Navy.

Bill

GMorrison

Sergeant

Sometimes I struggle with the thought that war and the weapons of war should not be glorified in what we enjoy as a hobby. But then I remember there is a balance in this world we live in... A strong effective military is still the best deterrent from the horror of war.

 

Harold, I struggled with modeling Germany 1939- 1945 and Japan same era. For some reason Italy got a pass.

Gino straightened me out on that, to each their own. No place for politics.

You of course know a whole lot more about combat than I. And I LOVE modeling the US military, in particular the Navy.

 Bill

 

 

In my case the military taught him how to take orders and be part of a fighting team which changed my entire way of thinking. I became a 'man-of-war' to use a navel term which is both human and inanimate. Together men and their ships (or tanks) function as a fighting unit.

Harold

Yes, that's it.

Plus, model companies gave up on non-military subjects in the 1970's because they just don't sell.

Bill

War is the continuation of state policies by other means.

Bill, I would put forward that car models do pretty well for non military subjects. And my understanding is that Revell USA was selling more of those than their military models before the company folded. And real space stuff sells well when that stuff is in the public eye and imagination.

According to Thomas Graham, Revell made an effort with the Ed Roth Kustom Car etc.

Rat Fink stuff but it wasn't enough to offset costs.

At that time Royle Glaser tried to sell the company to CBS and others, but Atari was established, people were spending more money on Barbie and other daughter related stuff.

A rare kit I built was the Revell Porsche 911 ,Dakar Ralley car or the Speedster.

The best model IMO of the period was the VW bus, It was a very tricky build.

Bill

Hello!

Gino - I like your model a lot! What I like best is all the samll details that say "been there, done that!" - like the phoenix, the names on the front window shelds or thqat storage box. I always try to add something like that through research, but it doesn't always work...

As for the other discussion - when I was a kid I thought war movies were a lot of fun and war looked like a great adventure. Some research for modelling convinced me otherwise and now I'm glad I didn't serve in the military and even more glad I've only seen war on TV. And I've learned it's worth a lot of work to keep it that way and maybe try to have less wars for the TV to show.

I still love those war machines - how much work and great ideas are in them! Researching those tools of destruction lets me learn many new things every time I do it.

Thanks for reading and have a nice day

Paweł

Thanks for the comments guys.  Building the model was fun and brought back some good memories.

As to the discussion about building "weapons of war", I don't see it that way.  These are just pieces of plastic.  I build them because I worked with them every day for over 23 years in the Army.  I enjoyed every day I was in the Army as well.  Good days and bad days.  I wouldn't have traded it for anything.  For me, I'm not glorifying anything, just showing my love of the military and capturing my memories.  For others it may be different  

HeavyArty

As to the discussion about building "weapons of war", I don't see it that way.  These are just pieces of plastic.  I build them because I worked with them every day for over 23 years in the Army.  I enjoyed every day I was in the Army as well.  Good days and bad days.  I wouldn't have traded it for anything.  For me, I'm not glorifying anything, just showing my love of the military and capturing my memories.  For others it may be different  

 

Harold

Very nice work, Captain! Nice touch with the OD green 6-packs, like everything else we had over there. The random green bogey also nice touch. I don't remember any of our vehicles having the Phoenix stenciled on them though; at least not in any of my pics. Poor Charlie Battery; those guys were over there forever and had like a 100% divorce rate? Anyways; you're missing some key battlefield modifications! Where's the ratchet-strapped tripod with MK-19, M-2, or 249? Also the baffle boxes to IFF friendly on the sides of the launcher? Seriously dude, bery nice to see one of ours that is so pretty!!!  You remember SPC. Justice? Double-fisting 249s clearing buildings? Yeah, not me- I'm Robert Wegner; LTC Finley's driver way back when. 

Very nice work, sir!

Hi Wegner, good to hear from you.  Are you tracking the 1-39 Reunion in March?